Willis food pantry seeks donations

Elizabeth Evans, Contributing writer

Published
6:07 pm CDT, Thursday, June 13, 2013

Richard Sykes takes groceries out of a freezer at the TLC Food Pantry in Willis Thursday. Volunteers at the pantry are asking for donations to help feed out-of- school children who have working parents.

Richard Sykes takes groceries out of a freezer at the TLC Food Pantry in Willis Thursday. Volunteers at the pantry are asking for donations to help feed out-of- school children who have working parents.

Photo: Staff Photo By Jason Fochtman

Photo: Staff Photo By Jason Fochtman

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Richard Sykes takes groceries out of a freezer at the TLC Food Pantry in Willis Thursday. Volunteers at the pantry are asking for donations to help feed out-of- school children who have working parents.

Richard Sykes takes groceries out of a freezer at the TLC Food Pantry in Willis Thursday. Volunteers at the pantry are asking for donations to help feed out-of- school children who have working parents.

Photo: Staff Photo By Jason Fochtman

Willis food pantry seeks donations

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With the school year over, the TLC Food Pantry on FM 1097 is looking for donations to help feed latchkey kids in the Willis area.

Hazel Broyles, coordinator for the First Baptist Church of Willis, hopes people will donate food, especially more expensive foods like peanut butter and jelly for these kids.

“Our three biggest needs for kids are peanut butter, jelly and macaroni and cheese,” said Broyles. “Most of the kids we help are latchkey kids, so they stay home during the day and they need things that they can make when no one’s home.”

The problem with keeping these items on the shelves, according to Broyles, is that no one ever donates them.

“Peanut butter is very expensive these days,” said Broyles. “When the kids have a food drive at school, they usually only bring in canned goods. They can’t afford to donate a jar of peanut butter.”

For Broyles’s 80th birthday, her own son gave 80 jars of peanut butter to donate to the TLC pantry.

On average, the pantry can help up to 38 families a day, five days a week, with the average family having at least three children. Some families have up to six or seven children, according to Broyles.

“Each family is allowed to come in only once a month,” said Broyles. “And if the person is 65 years or older, twice a month, so we’re constantly getting new families every day.”

The pantry has a formula for helping families: one small bag per single person, one medium bag per family up to three children, one large bag per family up to six children and for a family with seven or more children, a large and small bag.

“We do the best we can with what we have,” said Broyles.

The TLC Pantry accepts non-perishable items that are not out of date, and also has several freezers to house frozen foods. They also accept hygiene products, such as soaps and feminine products, which are available to families upon request only.

Each person asking for assistance from the TLC Pantry must be a Willis resident and be able to provide a Social Security Card, driver’s license or photo proof, and proof of residency in the form of a utility bill or a lease.